Previews

MSI Z490 Motherboard Preview

How Much Does it Cost?

Right now, the prices are still in flux, as is always the way pre-launch. AMD will no doubt counter with some sort of launch, and even that may cause Intel to be more flexible with their prices, and board partners will follow suit. The three MSI boards I have are wildly different, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the prices were drastically different. I suspect around £300 for the “entry-level” enthusiast boards, and I fear you may be looking closer to £1000 for the absolute top-end stuff. That’s before you dive into the cost of the CPU too. The Godlike has been rumoured to cost nearly a thousand, but we’ll have confirmation on that soon enough. Either way, Z490 will be mostly what you expect, and the top end boards are going to slay your wallet.

Overview

I really like what MSI are doing here, they’ve clearly sent up three boards that are very different to showcase that they’re great at many things. The Carbon series has been around for a few years now, and has proven a hit in the past. It’s clearly not the most expensive board, but it’s still packing a unique look, plenty of great features, good VRM, and competitive I/O too. I think the design can be a little too weird, but honestly, it’s still a good looking board.

For most high-end PC gamers and enthusiasts though, the MEG Z490 ACE is likely all of the motherboard you will ever need. It’s much closer to the GODLIKE than it is the Carbon thanks to its impressive power delivery, massive heatsinks, armoured design and more complex RGB integration. Plus, that black and gold trim design makes it one of the best looking motherboard we’ll see this year.

However, for those with truly lofty ambitions, the GODLIKE is really in an exclusive club. Yes, it is going to be mega-expensive, but so too will the flagships from Gigabyte AORUS, ASUS, and others. The top end is a small market, but I suspect these flagship boards will be cracking a few world records in the coming week and months. Furthermore, the dual Thunderbolt and 10GbE networking do have a big appeal for me as a content creator.

Gigabyte Z490 Motherboard Preview
ASUS Z490 Motherboard Preview

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Peter Donnell

As a child still in my 30's (but not for long), I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!